


vicious heroism

by blackmaskfucker (beherrscht)



Series: vicious heroism 'verse [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: (not an au tho!), BDSM, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Banter, Blindfolds, Body Worship, Bondage, Collars, College, Dirty Talk, Exhibitionism, Face-Fucking, Forced Orgasm, M/M, Masochism, Mental Instability, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Overstimulation, Pillow Talk, Porn With Plot, Post-Canon, Sappy Ending, Sex Toys, Soft sex, Topping from the Bottom, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Verbal Abuse, Verbal Humiliation, Whipping, akiren screaming internally, all he wants to do is hug him and put him to bed, also service dom akiren, borderline dubcon @ times because akr really loves akechi, did i mention: unhealthy coping mechanisms, goro please see a therapist, goro saying mean words like the tsuntsun he is, service top akiren, someone take both of these boys to therapy!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-04-22 16:40:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22191847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beherrscht/pseuds/blackmaskfucker
Summary: If this is the only salvation that Akechi will accept, then this is the salvation Akira can, and must, give.In which Akira has a savior complex and Akechi is plagued with nightmares and the shadows of the past.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: vicious heroism 'verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719916
Comments: 17
Kudos: 364





	1. escape to bloody fantasia

**Author's Note:**

> fic name from arcaea. sorry mr korbaryo i love ur speedcore but sometimes u gotta go with what you have

There is a knock on his dorm room entrance at 2AM, and Akira freezes.

There is only one person who would slip past all the guards and arrive in front of his room at this particular time, and he doesn't enjoy the thought of it. No, _some_ parts of him definitely enjoys it: it's just that it leaves a sick feeling in his stomach each time, and that is what he doesn't want to deal with. He reaches for the door and twists the handle anyways, because this isn't about him. 

On the other side of the door, Goro Akechi in his full disheveled glory. His hair is a fussy mess, he's swiveling in his steps, and his breath is irregular. The most revealing part is that he's gloveless: his most fair and sheathed skin now completely revealed for all to see, and that's about as literal as it is metaphorical. Akira grabs him by the arms and pulls him in before anyone notices.

They're barely in when Goro grabs him by the collar and gives a crushing, painful kiss, and Akira squeaks as he kicks the door close. Akechi's teeth grazes over his bottom lip as he pushes them backwards and backwards until the back of Akira's legs are hitting the bedframe. Akira lets gravity pull him back, and the mattress softens the fall. 

Goro straddles him, swiveling as he grinds his ass down on Akira's hard-on. "Fuck me." 

Akira bites his lips, trapping the groans that threaten to leak. "The usual?" 

"Harder, if you can manage," the detective replies back easily, and moves to bite him on the earlobes. His hands finds each other behind his own back and Akechi lowers his gaze, a clear show of submission. Not that it's _real_ submission, with how the balance of power functions between the two of them.

Akira hisses and bites his lips. He knows today he can't afford the silent solace from the way Goro's usually arrogant and hard glances are glazed over, breathing coming out in soft huffs. Akira doesn't _want_ to do this, he doesn't get off on the act itself like his partner does, but this is a part of their deal. Goro _needs_ this, needs it like the blood pumping through his veins, needs the liquid fire that only sparks when someone steps on his head and calls him a pretty, worthless bitch. If Akira can't deliver, Goro would merely go somewhere else, somewhere far less safer. That thought is terrifying, and it is what drives him forward as he settles Goro into the side of Akira's bed to tug on his pair of red gloves to get himself into character. 

_Savior complex_, Akechi had choked out when he first suggested the Agreement, _you're not the type of person to slap others around. You wouldn't enjoy it. _

_But you want me to_, Akira had replied, _and I would do it for you. _

_Can't watch me self-destruct, leader? You can't save everyone._ There had been as much blood as come as Goro coughed violently, and Akira decided that moment he would do _anything, _absolutely _anything_ to prove him wrong. 

They have been sleeping together for six months now. Akira doesn't know if they're exclusive, although he refrains from seeing anyone nonetheless. Their relationship is so, so, _so_ complicated, just like the man himself. Yet Akira is still the wild card, the fool that can bend himself to fit any necessary situation requested by his confidants. Even playing a cold-hearted and ruthlessly punishing dominant, he's learned over time.

"Remember your safe word?" Akira lets the thinnest of steel enter his words as he smooths down Goro's hair. Nothing harsh, nothing cold. Not yet. This is Akira's single moment, what he gets for having to endure everything that comes after. 

"_Satanael,_ Akira," Goro whispers back reverently. It had been, and it still is a promise from Akira to Goro that once upon a time he has killed a god in Goro's name: there is _nothing_ he would not do for the sake of him. Of course, Goro would never say the word. He isn't ready, neither is he the type to refuse what's demanded of him--after all these years, he blames himself for everything, for all his wrongdoings. With his ruthless self-destructive descent, it's up to Akira has to keep his eye trained on all of his reactions to make sure he doesn't cross a line, and he prides himself for having become so keyed-in to Akechi's body language. 

Akira had known Akechi long enough to know that what Goro needs right now aren't affectionate touches and sweet words. That face is one which had seen countless nightmares and guilt threatening to choke the very soul out of his body. 

He doesn't want to do this. 

He does it nonetheless.

The soft touches turn into a cold, brutal tug as his lips curl up to a sneer. "That's not my name now." 

"Joker," the crimson eyes blink back tears as they twist upwards to meet his harsh gaze. The word which merely meant leader back in the Phantom Thievery days now have a much deadlier connotation now: one of sir, master, _owner_. Those words and his code-name may as well be synonymous when uttered by Goro. The shift in demeanor seems to be doing more than enough to the crouching brunette because next, he's choking out, "_please_, Joker."

"I don't remember allowing you to beg, whore," Akira grabs Akechi by the hair and throws him to the floor violently, and kicks him in the stomach for a good measure. Goro merely curls up like an armadillo and moans, half pain and half acutely not, and doesn't move from his place on the floor. 

Akira bites his lips. There's usually a bit of tête-à-tête in the beginning where Goro attempts to rile him up to bring forth the vindictiveness, to trigger more violent outbreaks. Defying him on purpose to earn slaps and harsh words, although Akira can't exactly be sure he's not doing it habitually because that's how much a goddamn bastard Goro Akechi is. _He's too far gone to fight_, Akira shivers because he's never seen Goro so lost from the very beginning. 

Akira should stop. Continuing this while Akechi is hardly responsive is a recipe for disaster, yet if he merely shackled him up and stayed the night with him, Goro would absolutely _detest_ him in the morning. Akechi had enough a mind to bring himself to Akira's dorm room tonight, even if it was the very last thing he did. Still, he can't help himself from kneeling next to the teen to rub a soothing hand down his back and hesitantly starting, "maybe we shouldn't--"

As the inactivity sinks in, Goro's eyes focus back, and his mind properly slips back to process Akira's words. Once he does, The glare aimed at Akira in return is powerful enough to freeze hell twice over. "You fucking _promised_, Kurusu," the venomous snarl is almost inhumane, "you promised that whenever I wanted to get out of my goddamn, fucked up head you would let me. That you would help me," then his words turns shaky as he desperately adds, "don't you want to help me? Kurusu-kun, _please,"_ because Akechi knows if he wants to get Akira to do what he wants, this is going to work better. 

There's no arguing against those words. As much as Akira doesn't trust Akechi to know his own limits, he knows going to be even worse if he stopped coming to Akira at moments like this. "If you say so," Akira murmurs, miffed, as he rises back on his feet, then kicks Akechi in the stomach again in the spot he had before. And again. Again. Again. Until Goro is once again a blurred-eyed, choking mess. 

Akira carefully kicks apart Goro's limbs and manipulates his body into a spread-out position using his feet. The erection straining from inside his black dress pants are so prominent he's sure it would stain. He makes a discouraging tut, because he's Joker right now, and Joker wouldn't approve. "You're getting off on this," Akira sneers and moves his feet to step on the other boy's balls, gently at the start, "getting off on someone beating the shit out of you. You really are easy, aren't you? Spreading your legs for anyone who would grab you by the hair and get a little rough with you."

"Only for you," Goro chokes out, and Akira puts more pressure into the push to the point it turns brutally punishing. That was a lie, one which both of them knew. The brunette moans long and loud again, "Pl-" the sentence comes to a sudden halt as Akira viciously presses down on the sensitive anatomy. 

"Undress," Akira curtly orders and stands to the sidelines as Goro hurries to comply, flying open the buttons of his shirt, his knit vest and his dress pants. He automatically tosses his tie (red, something he took from Akira with his blessings) and his leather bound belt on the top of the bed as he carefully folds rest of the clothing in a neat pile on the desk. _Good boy_. Once he's finished and fully naked, he kneels by the bedside and spreads his legs to give Akira full view of his straining cock, lips portraying a smile--he enjoys being examined, being under watchful eye. His arms are drawn back, hands clasped shut that won't separate without his explicit order. Akira kicks him against the head of his cock this time, and tuts when it squirts a drop of precome on his boots. 

Akira moves to take out a metal box from under the bed, the box that is frequently used enough that dust never quite manages to settle on the top. It's the assorted series of sex toys, non-sexual items that have been modified into one or heavy BDSM material. Akira takes the dog collar and fixes it against Goro's throat: tight enough that he would have troubles breathing but not tight enough that it would actually choke him, Akira's learned the limits over time. Then he takes one of the rubber rings to reach towards Akechi's cock, tightly binding the base. Goro makes a pained choke, but Akira steels himself to continue. "Clean the mess you've made," Akira murmurs as he nudges the front of his boot against Akechi's nose, and the other boy doesn't need more encouragement to lick down on the streak of precome until it's more spit than come. 

He takes the sight given to him hungrily, his eyes raking over the tight shaft and the flustered cheeks. "I'm feeling rather generous today," he announces with feigned disinterest, "let's hear about what you want." 

"M-My throat," Goro chokes out, "I want you to fuck my throat, Joker." Akira keeps his expression set to a frown, because Joker wouldn't be pleased. Joker would never be pleased. He's the disapproving shadow who slaps around a nameless whore. 

"You think you deserve my cock? You think you're even worthy of being a hole?" Akira's face crumples as he settles into the mattress and spreads his legs. He lets Goro reach forward and undo the zipper with his teeth to reveal his own hard erection. The cool air is nice, and he takes in a sharp breath.

Now so close to Akira's cock, Goro can't restrain himself and he tries to reach forward and take it into his mouth, whining and pouting when Akira grabs hold of his hair and pulls firmly so his cock remains out of reach. Jesus fucking _Christ_. Akira takes his hard cock and slaps it against Goro's cheek, a resounding slap echoing around the room. It extracts another desperate whine from the kneeling boy. "Pl'se, Joker, 'lease, 'll make it so good for you," Akechi slurs as he rubs his cheeks against the cock, silently begging for permission as his lips part to show his pink tongue. He makes a frustrated whine when Akira denies and slaps him on the other side. His entire body is trembling as he begs, "'ll let you do anything you want. Just fuck me. Just _own_ me." 

Akechi really would take anything Akira would give right now, which is why Akira has to keep a strong rein against the animalistic part of him who wants to take Goro up for that request. _Someone_ has to make sure they play safe. It still doesn't change him grabbing Goro by his long locks and forcing his entire cock down his throat with a single push, enjoying how the man's surprised yelp dissolves into one of delirious pleasure--they've done this one before, so Akira knows the limits. Once he settles in, the head hitting the back of the Goro's tight throat, he grunts and releases the grip. "I'm giving you a _gift_, whore. Do rest of the work yourself." 

Goro moans louder as he fucks his airway on Akira's cock desperately, lips always touching the stomach at every push. His hands are curled against his sides, knuckles turning white. His cock is producing a steady drizzle of precome, and Akira moves his feet forward to grind down on it, causing Goro's rhythm to falter and moan loudly. The vibrations that travel over from his mouth is unbelievably hot, and from the tightness of his throat, Akira spills his load deep inside Akechi, enjoying how he swallows automatically around the shaft. Once that's over, he backs off so just the head is sitting on his tongue, opens his mouth just enough to see the pearly liquid mixed with saliva. 

Akira wants to kiss him. Instead, he stares down dispassionately even as Goro rolls the taste around his mouth, acting like he's got a mouthful of sweet cream instead of bitter, sour ejaculation. "I'm waiting." 

"Yes, Joker. Thank you, Joker," Akechi murmurs breathlessly, "for allowing me to have your seed. For letting my dirty throat around your cock." His glassy eyes are focused on Joker's boots still grinding down on his erection, only shyly gazing up to make his lashes flutter. He licks his lips, the lips that'd become shiny and swollen after the brutal blowjob. He is a _sight_, and Akira feels his cock jump again. The upside of being young. 

He gradually lets the pressure ease, then remembers the lash attached to the brunette's collar. He pulls sharply on it, and Goro doesn't fight back as he collapses face first onto the hardwood, hard enough that Akira worries it may leave marks. As Akira taps his foot impatiently, Goro wiggles in his position so that he's more comfortable and so that Akira can see his already-gaping hole. 

Akira dips two fingers easily, and tuts. He violently jabs at his prostate, enjoying how Goro's entire body shakes under his ministrations. "You've prepared yourself well. Do you always keep yourself so loose so you could open your legs for anyone willing to fuck you?"

"Only you, Joker," this time it's quieter. He doesn't let his actions betray his confusion and keeps stabbing at his prostate, because he's that good an actor, but so is Goro--they're both playing a role here, Akira as Joker and Goro as his nameless plaything, but _this_ isn't the part of the script. Usually, Goro would reply with something like, _yes, I am a worthless fuckhole for anyone's use_, or something equally fucked up because that is where Goro goes to escape. There's no enjoyment in it for Akira; he only calls him such nasty shit because dirty talk is what the other boy gets off on and demands. He doesn't want to hope, but he can't help his heart from jumping--

God, fuck. And Goro says _he's_ the masochist in this convoluted relationship when Akira's the one in love with this bastard. 

The hysterical cries have him realize he's been hitting Goro's prostate throughout the train of thought, and he removes his fingers. The lube makes his already shiny gloves reflect even harsher lights. Akechi's desperate panting and his moans are fixed against the floor because of the position he is, and Akira takes his moments to circle around of him, stepping on his head or kicking his face so the man doesn't get bored. He may be infinitely adaptable, but that doesn't mean he has applicable solutions at every turn.

(Akira and Goro may have done this dance a fair number of times now, but Goro hasn't ever been this out of it from the very beginning. One time, Akira had to shove a vibrator up his ass for an _hour_ to get him this complacent. And he _still_ wouldn't stop talking back.) 

Akira isn't hard to fuck him again yet, so instead he leaves him to be, poking around at the 'fishing box' until he retrieves a leather whip. He bites his lips because this is newfound territory he's trotting here, but once he looks down at Goro's face he's met with a hungry gaze and an enthusiastic nod. 

Back in character, Akira runs the leather down Goro's neck and lets it travel slowly downwards. "You surely don't need lubrication anymore," Akira tuts as he taps the gaping hole revealed in front of him with his new tool. "Neither did I ask you to," he steels his voice as he expertly flicks his wrist to strike at Akechi's left buttock. It makes a loud slap noise that's more sound than pain, but enough pain that it would bruise the day after. "Whore." 

Goro shivers, and the fact that's more excitement than terror is what has Akira raining down blows at the pristine skin. It's purely mechanical from Akira's part: making sure not to strike too hard that it would leave permanent marks on the skin, avoiding areas where it would be difficult to apply ointment. Goro's moans all throughout the whipping are _obscene_. 

By the time Akira's done, Goro's ass is criss-crossed with crimson and purple stripes, and he takes a finger to drag harshly into one of the earliest hits. Goro moans brokenly as he pushes his ass back against Akira's hand. Akira doesn't really get off on the inflicting pain part, but the sound Goro makes definitely does--his half-hard cock jumps, recharged and interested. He runs a fist and _yes_, he could definitely get hard again. 

Goro's still blissed out, so Akira has to reach the front, pull him by the hair and push his cock in. There's only exhausted mewling and choking as Akira harshly uses his mouth like a sleeve, getting himself wet enough to enter his ass. Once he's done, he takes the brunette by the hair and bashes him to the ground, careful to mask the wince that comes with Akechi's low groaning. 

Moving him to the bed is too much work with how much a dead weight Akechi is when he's fizzed out, so Joker reaches behind him and pounds into him without giving even a second of respite. Goro's stuttering moans driving him forward, he starts a furious pace, irregularly striking his prostate to throw him off the rhythm.

Then Akira remembers the leash still tied to his hand. He pulls on the leash sharply, enjoying how the heat tightens around him as Goro's back bends like Robin Hood's bow. He always was so flexible in the Palace, always bending his back and splitting his legs at every available opportunity, and Akira makes good use of it as he pulls on it harder and harder, using the momentum to drive in faster and deeper each time. 

When Akechi starts to make the pained choking noises from the lack of oxygen, Akira comes violently, letting the crimson gloves dig into Goro's ass as he fills him up. Akechi just groans and moans, tightening his ass to drag out every last bit of Akira's orgasm. 

Akira flicks his gaze at the clock. It's nearing three already, and now that his needs are dealt with, the exhaustion come crashing tenfold. Collapsing onto Goro's body, he makes a low groan as he lets his gloved hand travel downwards, gently fondling his balls. 

Goro shies away from the touch, shaking his head vehemently. Akira frowns as he sits down on the bed and tilts the brunette's head so their eyes can meet. Akira's voice is soft when he tries to coax him into complying, "c'mon, you can't keep going like this. It's late, tomorrow's a weekday, it's pretty late already. Let me give you a handjob so you can go back to sleep." 

"I can keep going," Goro grunts and gives Akira a nasty glower. It would have been more effective if Akira hadn't been subject to it on a near-daily basis and Akechi wasn't sprawled on the ground, his hard cock peeking between his legs. "I know my limits," he growls defiantly and Akira thinks, _not even_ _close_. 

Akira reaches for Goro, making a tutting noise at all the marks--they're going to be a pain to put salve on. "I'll clean you up, and tuck you in bed." 

"_Akira_," Goro whines, still plastered on the floor, and _that_ makes Akira flinch. They don't go by first name terms here, because then might turn into something intimate, and Goro isn't remotely ready for that in his current state of mind. They are hardly on first name terms as friends on campus, because Goro is very, very intent on having a very busy schedule and also avoiding Akira at every available opportunity. "Please. I _need_ it."

His voice is absolutely _wrecked_. Whatever nightmare that drove him to the front of Akira's door must have been worse than usual, far worse than usual, and Akira makes a split decision he is most _certain_ he should not be making. "Alright," he sighs as he reaches for the gloves again. "You sure about this?" 

As the gloves slip on, Akechi's eyes come to a soft close as he points his head down and chants, _yes, yes, yes, yes_. 


	2. blur the line between false and true

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings are so, so complicated.

They say the eyes are the window to the soul.

Akira doesn't really believe in that talk, not really. Even though he _should_, considering he once spent a year trampling around in a shadow world where people's most deeply repressed desires have been revealed for all to see and manipulate. He still doesn't, although it doesn't mean he completely disagrees with it. Automatic reactions regarding the eyes are the most telling of them all once you know what you're looking for--between the blinking and the pupils, there is nothing else that is as telltale as those orbs. Even if you are an extremely well-trained creature to hide your responses, you can't hide the _eyes_. 

Obviously, Goro knows this far better than Akira does, being the phenomenal actor that he is, which is why he insists on having a blindfold every time they have sex. Akira now knows better than to indulge him this, because with Akechi's self-destructive and masochistic nature he will _never_ safeword. And he needs to find a way to _keep this safe_. Akira would gag him, bind his hands back, or have him tied with intricate shibari knots that completely denies Goro any movement but he never, _ever_ have covered the eyes. Because they are Akechi's _real_ safewords, and Akira needs them to continue--to make this okay.

It has been enough until today. Goro's crimson orbs, even when dampened by subspace, have always been incisive and reactive--a shard of him always aware, conscious and on-guard. Yet now, Akechi looks so... broken. Unfocused. _Lost_. Akira's always thought _all this_ was Akechi's preferred form of stress relief, something to throw the weight off his shoulders for even a short while. Looking at him now, he's starting to question it, thinking he's been offering his body to people just to stop feeling so _dead_. 

He's so out of it, there's no _point_. That's why he takes the soft crimson bunch of silk cloth--always used for bondage only until now--and loops them around Goro's eyes, making sure they won't scrape at his skin. "Remember, if you just want me to stop--"

"If I want you to stop, I'll bite your fucking dick, Kurusu," Akechi grumbles abrasively, clearly annoyed by Akira's cautiousness. "This entire goddamn conversation is a turn-off, you're not going to break me by slapping me a few times." 

_I know. I can't destroy something that's already reduced to dust_. "I'm trying to make sure I don't pass a line you don't want me to."

"Maybe I _want_ you to pass it," Akechi mutters under his breath, not intended for Akira's ears. The ex-thief promptly pretends he hasn't heard anything, and returns to his task of fixing the blindfold around the boy's eyes. 

Akira just wants to hug him, pepper him with kisses then put him to bed. Instead, he takes a breath and gets into character, and soon it's Joker sneering and grabbing Akechi by the long locks, looking down with a cold, impervious gaze at his struggling victim. Even without his access to sight, the tension in Akechi's body immediately melts away to show the picture-perfect submission the scene requires of him. 

"Kneel," Joker commands, and instantly Goro repositions himself on his knees, shivering every time his ass brushes against the cold tiles of Akira's dorm room. His tightly bound cock pulses around the ring and producing steady drops of precum that it's starting to pool on the flooring. Joker takes his gloved fingers and rubs at the head, eliciting a choked moan from the kneeling man, then slips the digit between Akechi's lips so he could dutifully lap up his own come. Once he's done sucking them, he licentiously takes Joker's fingers into his mouth properly and treats them how he would service a cock: licking the underside, sucking gently, letting the tip slip into his throat to show what he could do. 

Vicious thoughts make their way through Akira. _God, he's so pretty_.

"_Look_ at yourself," Akira derides haughtily, perfectly aware of the irony Goro can't. "How the once high and mighty has fallen, sucking at a finger so desperately hoping it'd be replaced with a proper cock," the detective shakes and moans at the words, mewling and swiveling. Akira, driven by impulse, whips out his phone and takes a picture of the sight. 

Akechi had been a very, _very_ self-conscious individual in high school, having had to maintain the flawless Detective Prince persona, but that had been long eroded away after the collapse of the Metaverse. Now, his self-destructive tendencies devour any form of self-maintenance the boy could possibly care about; if he had, Akira wouldn't have found him in a middle of a sex party being fucked by eight people like a ragdoll in the _first place_. 

Still, Exhibitionism is one of the more harmless form of Akechi's inner masochism that Akira tends to encourage it to a certain level--something like fucking in the middle of campus had been far too disturbing for Akira, especially when that could result both of them being expelled. Through a lot of shouting, glaring and compromise the two of them came to a makeshift solution: photography. 

Over the course of six months, Akira had managed to amass a folder full of Akechi in various compromising positions, all of the sexual and _absolutely_ not safe to be viewed in public. He never could come to delete any of them, despite all the pictures taken from Joker's point of view, not Akira's. 

Joker has Akechi model for him, some poses showing his come-sprayed face, some of them showcasing his bruised and leaking ass, the others showing off his his hard trapped cock, but all of them utterly, horrifyingly humiliating. Goro complies to every single one of his inane propositions, even when Akira orders him to wrap his fist around his sensitive cock and masturbate. The sight of the pink head disappearing into Akechi's fist and the sounds of mewling pleasure strikes a new idea in Akira's mind.

"Ass up, face down. Once we're done with this, you're going to be punished," Joker snide derisively, tapping his feet loudly against the floor. 

"But I-I've done everything you've asked for," Goro sniffs but does as he's told, spreading his legs and showing his come-dripping hole. 

In retaliation to the complaining, Joker harshly slaps his already-bruised ass, eliciting a full-body wrack from the collapsed ex-detective. When a drip of come travels down Akechi's thighs, he takes out the phone to snap a shot of it and throws the cell haphazardly towards the bed. "Are you saying you don't deserve punishment?"

"I-I don't, m'not, please, _please_\--"

Oh god. Akira wants to stop, pick him up and hug him. He stutters, fingers darting across the air above him in a split second of weakness but Akechi, apparently having expected Akira's hesitance, moves his hands from their usual space (pressed behind tightly behind his back) and digs them into Akira's calf, a silent command for him to continue. Joker kicks at it, then steps hard enough to bruise as an appropriate reply--_fine, I'll continue for now_.

"Are you questioning my decision, you worthless slut? Perhaps you really do need more discipline," Joker reviles, accentuating his statement by moving his boots to Goro's head and stepping down savagely. "Did I _ask_ for your opinion?"

Akechi keeps his head down, panting against the floor and rutting against the tiles like a common dog. Akira moves his feet so the sole of his shiny shoes are sitting under Goro's chin, and uses it to tilt the brunette's head upwards.

"Say thank you, whore." 

"T-Thank you," Akechi mumbles, his body contradicting his own words as he rolls into himself, making his body considerably smaller. When Joker stays silent still, the words begin to burst out of the ex-detective like a dam had been broken in his heart. "Thank you for finding time to discipline such a worthless, disappointing slut and a waste of space like me, Joker, please, I deserve it, I deserve _everything_\--"

Akira's heart twists bitterly, and the temptation to tell Goro that he's not worthless, that he's still _loved_, is so much that for a split second, Akira feels like giving in. _This isn't about me. This is about what he needs_. Instead, he plays with his gloves as he reaches for the box again. "Better," Joker compliments at the improvement, and Goro makes a pleased rumble at the praise. 

Setting the tools he retrieved from the box beside the restrained brunette, Akira lets his face soften as he fondles the restrained cock, jerking it in the methodical way he _knows_ Akechi likes. Despite the ring, the balls draw taut and he gives a full-body shudder--and Akira confirms his suspicions, the ring isn't wound tight enough that it completely denies Goro his orgasm; the ornament merely keep it at bay. With this new information in hand, Joker continues the perfunctory handjob with his right hand as he lets his precome-lathered left trail over Akechi's cheeks, lips, and his nipples.

As Akira twists the nub painfully, Goro gives a faltering cry that devolves into a debauched moan. "I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself. Yet if you disappoint me and come without permission like some common animal in a rut..."

Akechi isn't much a fool to know what this handjob means, so he shudders, trying to twist away from the unforgiving grip. Joker moves his gloved hands to twist at the other nipple this time, tightening his grip on the member, and the pain-pleasure mix is enough to have the ex-detective spray his seed all over Joker's gloves and the floor tiles. 

Goro, once the waves of pleasures of finally coming finally cede away, realize what he's done, and quivers silently, barely breathing out a, "J-Joker, 'm--"

Instead of chastising him, Joker merely tuts and murmurs disdainfully, "I haven't expected any better from someone of your status." Then he takes his come-soaked hand and slaps it against Akechi's cheek. The resounding strike twists his head to the side, and when Goro's lips slide open, he takes that chance to brutally shove two of his digit into the wet heat. The brunette's tongue automatically wraps around the intrusion, and he sucks at his own seed mindlessly. 

Once Akira's red gloves are shining from translucent spit, the ex-detective slowly lowers himself to the floor and begins lapping up the evidence of his own shame, and Joker can't help but voice, "licking come off the floor, no better than a dog in a rut. It's a fitting look on a whore like you." 

Goro moans against the floor. Akira rises from his position in front of Akechi to stomp behind him. With Akechi's head against the tiles again, his sculpted ass is rubbing up against the cold air, and Akira can't help himself from sinking his fingers into the flesh, massaging them apart and giving them a few resounding slaps. He watches hungrily as every attention he provides causes his own come to leak and drip down Akechi's thighs, earning a shiver and a soft nudge against Akira's hand from Goro. 

If they were in any different sort of arrangement, Akira could eat him out, but all the raven could do in this circumstances is mourn for the opportunity lost and grab the vibrator--the one that's once been a dildo that's been repurposed into a different toy with a little tinkering. As Joker slowly pushes in the toy, earning a muffled yelp from Akechi, he murmurs in a low rumble, "can't even keep my come in your ass properly with how loose this is." 

Goro _wails_ from overstimulation when he turns on the toy, his body convulsing and his throat only capable of exhaling inarticulate, strangled gasps. If it isn't for the stray drops of tears travelling down the puffy, crimson cheeks and the irregular bouts of hiccups and keens, Akira would think he was dying, not enjoying himself while receiving sexual torture.

Akira wraps the gloves around his cock, jerking his soft dick to half-mast, trying to focus on the sounds of Akechi's pleasure and not his pain, although they are very difficult to differentiate with Goro's masochistic nature. Once he's done, he kneels in front of the brunette, now reduced to nothing more than harsh, shallow breathing. His cock is close enough to Akechi's face that he smells the musk and tries to edge himself towards it--a difficult task with the position he is currently holding.

"Do you want my cock?" Akechi nods so zealously that he almost dislocates his blindfold. Joker laughs harshly as he takes his cock and rubs the head against Akechi's cheek to smear the precome, instantly pulling away when the other boy starts to lean towards it. "Then _earn_ it, you useless cum dump, and get that whore hole tight."

With that, Joker drops a toy into Akechi's hand, nothing bigger than a medium-sized pebble. The ex-detective plays with it, frowning as he tries to make sense of it, and his breath hitches when it begins to hum vibrantly. 

"Remember: if you come without my permission again, I'll leave you here alone with the vibrator and a sound shoved in at full strength all day. You don't want to make me angry, do you?"

"Y-Yes, Joker," Goro replies, dazed and completely out of it, as he sluggishly takes the vibrating bullet against his own slit. The sensations must be electric enough, because the overstimulation has him screaming in both pain and ecstasy as his back bends. 

Joker wordlessly watches as Goro rubs the toy up and down his cock with one hand, fondling his balls with the other. He oscillates front and back on his knees, which Akira can't figure out why he's doing--whether he wants to escape from the sensations or to grind down on the toys forced upon him. Akira tightly holds his own cock's base because the sight of Goro pleasuring himself and the soft rumble of moans leaking from his lips are mesmerizing, and really hopes he won't have to wait long.

Despite having come mere minutes ago, between the two vibrators and the forced torture, Akechi somehow grows hard again under his own hand's skillful ministrations. 

"It's been less than ten minutes and you're already stiff again? Just how desperate for cock _are_ you?" 

"_Want you_," Goro barely breathes out, voice reduced to a silent moan. "I want 't so much, I need it, please, Joker, pleaseplease_please_\--"

Akira, having decided he waited enough, doesn't even bother pulling his pants all the way down before pushing Akechi's legs up so his ankles are planted against his shoulders. He mercilessly drives into the abused hole, sheathing himself to the base with a single thrust. With just how sensitive Akechi is, and with how much he's abused his voice in the past ten minutes by screaming, all the brunette can do is mewl and accept the brutal treatment. 

Suddenly driven by an instant idea, and far too gone to resist it, Joker rips the piece of cloth covering Akechi's eyes violently as he growls, "look at who's fucking you right now." Goro's eyes are empty but somehow shining brighter than ever, and Akira forces their head together for a bruising kiss, his relenting thrusts not giving the other boy even slight a respite. 

"Joker--Akira--_Akira_," Goro chokes out every time Akira drives violently into him, barely cognizant of what he is saying from the glassy look he is giving the floor. Suddenly the mood shatters and Akira almost stops himself out of shock: Goro never, _ever_ calls him Akira when they're doing this. _Kurusu_, if he does something unfavorable in the detective's eyes, but never Akira. Earlier on, the mood had been broken so it could have made sense, but now? Keeping up with the harsh thrusts, Akira peers at Goro's face, only seeing cloudy, distant eyes. 

Gambling against an impossible chance, he lets his thrusts slow down into a less punishing pace, and carefully cradles Akechi's face, rubbing the line of tears away with his clean hand. "I'll take care of you."

"Akira," Goro sob-moans as he rubs his cheeks against the crimson gloves, surprisingly not pushing him away. "_Akira_." 

"Akechi," Akira whispers reverently, "_Goro_."

With a shudder, Akechi cries as he comes _again_, and Akira follows suit, shooting inside the warm for one last time. Akira pulls of the gloves, throwing them to the side carelessly as he pulls the brunette close, trapping him in his arms, shielding him from the rest of the world. 

* * *

"What happened?" Akira groggily blurts out, and gently tucks his chin into the junction of Goro's neck. He doesn't try to throw him off for some reason, and Akira indulges in the feeling of being little spoon with a pleased growl. 

"Today's the first anniversary of Shido's execution," Goro's eyes are very far away when he breathes it out, and Akira grip involuntarily tightens around Goro. "I was back in the interrogation room. The engine room. The trigger under my fingers. Your dead eyes staring back at me, my _own_ dead eyes staring back at me and I just _couldn't_\--"

"It isn't real," Akira grips him tighter, hard enough to leave marks. "I'm here, you're here, Shido is more than six feet under and can't hurt you _or_ me. We're going to be okay now, alright?" _If you let me_, the words are implied yet not said.

"It sometimes feels like they haven't buried him deep enough." 

Akira bites his lips and brings Goro even closer. The words are right at the tip of his tongue: I care about you, stay with me forever,_ I love you_. He doesn't say any of them, keeps them locked out and away from the love of his life. 

"I know," Akechi mumbles brokenly. 

"What?" 

"That you love me," Goro's voice is worn out, completely resigned to fate. Someone may as well have told him his soulmate _didn't_ love him. "I know it's why you put up with me and all this," followed by a stagnant pause and a silent, "thank you." 

Akira freezes, his heart threatening to escape its cage. He's trying to formulate a response that doesn't sound absolutely stupid and won't scare Akechi away, but the other boy continues before he can even open his mouth.

"I can't say it back yet," his gaze turns distant as he observes the ceiling blankly, "can't say I ever could."

This is something Akira already knows. But there's now a spark of hope in his body that he brings his lips forward to leave a chaste, innocent kiss on Goro's lips. "I'll wait for you forever if it's what it would take."

"You're a fucking idiot," Goro mumbles but doesn't push him back, and Akira considers that a victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and there it is. feelings. gay. 
> 
> anyways due to a sudden impulse i want to do a fluffy bondage epilogue but between rtz and cpv ch6 idk when that's gonna come so. this is gonna be set as complete until then q/ 
> 
> im on twitter (@tsunbrownie) if any of yall wanna yell at me about shuake. im always here


	3. epilogue; baby you light up the world like nobody else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Akira's turn now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "jamie why is the chapter title a line from a one direction song" because i managed to get what makes you beautiful stuck in my head and i had it on repeat in the 3 hours i wrote this chapter
> 
> it's been brought to my attention that i really cannot write soft porn anymore. like . what kind of weird ass shit is that. i can write goro being gangbanged by 8 akiras but i can't write normal people bed activities???? so i just DROPPED writing rtz for a second and wrote this. im almost DONE WRITING RTZ TOO I SWEAR why do i make stuff for myself? 
> 
> anyways, enjoy Actually Soft Sex Brought To You By Yours Truly

His phone begins to ring its shrill alarm, indicating that it is 8AM and time to function. Akira groggily rises from his place in bed, somehow cold despite everything, then reaches for his phone, trying to make sense of the world. 

"Make that _shut up_," the bundle of blanket curled next to him grumbles viciously, voice gone hoarse. 

"But classes," Akira murmurs, confused and hopeful. Akechi didn't leave after last night, he decided to stay, _what does that mean—_

"Fuck classes," the sheet complains, voice already going drowsy. "Anyone who dares to drag me before one gets the bullet today, I just made the law 'n am a law major..." 

"Mm," the thief disables the alarm, turns his phone off and removes the battery. Then he reaches for the blanket hogger and drags him close into his arms. The sound of a soft snore guides him back into slumber.

* * *

"I'm not fucking anyone else." 

Akira freezes from his place behind the kitchen counter, roasting bacon. Honestly lost on how to reply, he replies, "er, you're in a good mood today." The end of his sentence rises up so much in the bout of confusion that it could be interpreted as a question. 

"You're so fucking stupid," Akechi hisses as he bites into a piece of toast. "You just seemed confused last night." 

Akira is more confused _now_, with Goro having chosen to stay after sex and extorting breakfast from him, but saying that would only earn and irritated retort from Goro, so he keeps his mouth shut. "I'm surprised you remember considering just how out of it you were last night." 

"Like I could forget anything about you," Goro mutters under his breath, so quietly that Akira is surprised he managed to even catch it. Then, a bit louder: "I do unfortunately, and I just wanted to clarify."

"I'm not either, by the way," Akira adds. "Does this make us boyfriends?" He asks hastily, this time most pointedly a question, an extremely hopeful one. 

"Don't call it that. It makes us sound so... juvenile," the ex-detective groans as he shoves a tomato in his mouth. When he sees Akira's sappy expression he snaps, "why do you look so _happy_? I just insulted you. You look like an idiot." 

The raven grins. "Your varying ways of calling me a moron is endearing." 

"That's just..." the ex-assassin's voice drifts off once he realizes what he was going to say. "Just bring some more toast. I'm _starving_."

Akira laughs heartily as he takes the bacon from the pan and grabs the bread from the toaster, not being able to lose his smile on the way back to join his lover on the table.

* * *

"Come on, tug at it," Akira murmurs as he finishes fixing the knot. 

"I don't _need_ these anymore," Akechi grumbles but complies, pulling halfheartedly against the well-fixed bond of the ex-Phantom Thief's. "You could just place them on the headboard and tell me not to move them, and I wouldn't."

"But I don't _want_ to order you to do anything," the raven answers back as he massages Goro's taut shoulders. He lets his face settle to a pout for maximum impact. "You said this time we could do it however _I_ wanted it. Can't you rely on me just a little bit, Goro?" 

"I'm already starting to regret giving you a choice right now," Goro squirms but doesn't say anything much. Then, more timidly, "I still get my safeword, right?" 

"Of course," Akira whispers against Goro's earlobes then proceeds to bite gently against it. The brunette gives a bodily shudder, but stays put. "But we're doing this my way this time, so I'm going to stop if you just say 'stop', 'no', or 'I don't want this'." 

Akechi obviously doesn't like this, because the ruby orbs pointedly avoids the thief's own as the man himself mutters, "you're such a wuss, Akira."

"I just want you to feel good and say you feel good, alright? Not crawl forward to grab my coattails and _beg_ for me to stop," just thinking about it makes Akira feel a little queasy, pressing the sole of his boots against Akechi's head while degrading because Joker would have to say _have I permitted you to put your dirty fingers anywhere near me me, you useless whore?_ instead of hugging him. 

"But I _do_ enjoy it, although I can't really say it at the time," Goro sniffs, "but I know you don't, not really, so I thought this is only fair." 

Of course this is all nothing more than a deal for him, because feelings are Too Much for Akechi Goro, psychiatrist's number one nightmare. He doesn't let Goro's attitude deter him; Goro _does_ love him, now he can be certain, and over time, maybe Akira can warm him over to this concept, convince him that he does deserve to be loved. "Cliches are cliches for a _reason_, Goro. Now, I'm going to shower you with my love and affection and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Goro makes a low noise. Akira doesn't need to look up to know that he's glaring at him. And Akira can't help but laughing again because this entire situation seems so surreal—why is _Akira_ the one convincing, no, _begging_, _Goro _not to treat him brutally? The glare increases in intensity, and there comes a snappish, "stop laughing!" 

"Sorry, sorry," Akira replies sheepishly, and in return, Goro's expression melts into a soft grumble again. Knowing that actions speak far, far louder than words, especially in Akechi Goro's case who weaves armors out of sentences and blades out of paragraphs, he trails down the brunette's face, gently tugging the locks behind his ears, leaving gentle kisses in his wake as he expertly moves his mouth around his chin, reaching for his neck.

Reaching for the button of his shirt—when did Goro get the time to wear a proper shirt, Akira has no idea—he carefully tugs them open one by one, brushing over his nipples and rubbing his flank gently as his talented fingers draw lower, lower, lower. Once the final button is off, Akira pushes the two tails of his shirt apart to reveal the bare, pale skin. The shirt hangs behind the ex-detective like a cape, unable to slide off due to the thin layer of silk keeping the man's hands firmly tied together, and it reminds Akira of Crow in some ways, that majestic waist-length cape that slid off him in the midst of battle. Akira kisses the junction of his neck, making a sound at the litany of hickeys and bruises spread on that smooth skin, feeling an emotion somewhere between apologetic and possessive. 

_You're so beautiful. Why can't you see yourself in the same way how I see you?_

"Stop teasing," Goro shivers as Akira continues to move around his collarbone, licking at another purple-red blotch tenderly.

"I'm not teasing, I'm worshiping you," Akira murmurs against his neck, kissing away another hickey and letting his teeth graze against one of the fading marks, enjoying how Goro's pulse skyrockets. "You're so beautiful, but you never let me tell you just how much..."

"You're overreacting," but Goro pushes his neck into his mouth, desperate for more sensation.

Once Akira has lathered attention on every single one of the bruises adorned across Goro's skin, he lets his head dip down, reaching for his nipples now. He licks at the pink nub, and he can't help but let his face let into a playful grin because they're already pretty hard—despite Goro trying to toss him off by willfully behaving maliciously he wants this, Akira's learned he could never take his words at face value from the first day he's met him.

"You're far too good at this," Goro trembles under Akira's careful ministrations, "are you sure _you're_ not the whore?"

"Most people call that _having boyfriends_, actually," the raven chirps back with Goro's nubs still trapped between his teeth. "And girlfriends, in my case."

"Your endless record of talents never fail to surprise m—_Akira_," Goro whines as Akira uses his teeth to bite down. He just can't get enough of his first name tumbling between those pretty, reddened lips, and he selfishly repeats the motion again to hear it again.

"Seriously? This surprises you, and not the fact I've been playing the hot and merciless Joker for you the past half year? Because _that's _clearly the anomalous talent, not pleasing one's lover," Akira laughs, then licks at the swelling bump once, moving to the other one. Every time Goro tries to retort with some cheeky words, he bites down on it just painfully enough to silence him, fluttering his lashes prettily enjoying how Goro glares down at him.

"I've given you far too much power," Goro hisses breathlessly once Akira separates himself from Goro's body. "Just far too much."

Instead of replying, Akira grins deviously and just takes the two hardened, sensitive nubs between his nail. Goro warns him with a nasty glower but Akira ignores it, twisting them _just _hard enough not to be painful, just incredibly pleasuring. Goro's back bends with a loud, muffled whine, ending with a desperate pant.

Goro's only dressed in his underwear, because apparently wearing pants was too much effort for just breakfast. Or he was planning to extort sex from Akira the moment they finished, which is very likely considering that they immediately tumbled back in bed after finishing the toast. So Akira just tucks his fingers in those rubber bands and pulls them down, freeing Goro's reddened cock from its confines.

"I think little Goro disagrees," the ex-thief coos, just because Goro would hate it and Akira loves the quips, "I think it just likes the power you've handed over to me."

"Call my dick that again and I'm never having sex with you ever again."

"Fair," Akira murmurs as he takes hold of the shaft gently, rubbing circles against the head. Goro lets out a shuddered moan from merely having been touched, and Akira takes that as a good sign as he runs his index finger down his veins, gently trailing down, following the thick vein at the side. Reaching for the balls, he thumbs and knuckles them as he slowly lowers his body.

Goro makes a squeaky sound that Akira knows that he will furious deny as the raven wraps both hands at the base of Goro's cock to hold it upright, dipping his head to take the leaking head into his mouth. He swipes his tongue against the slit, collecting and swallowing the drops forming there, and he can feel Goro's gaze—no longer hostile, just confused and aroused—fixed at the top of his head.

Hearing no objections, Akira sucks against the crown once as he slowly descends down on the shaft, swallowing and sucking at a languid pace to let Goro accommodate the sensation. Holding Goro steady, he continues to bob his head once the head brushes at the start of his throat, swallowing diligently and letting the shaft fit in his passage. Once his lips are brushing against the balls, he stays still, waiting for the brunette to get used to the feeling.

Goro stares down at him with feverish wide eyes, like he isn't quite comprehending what is happening to him, like he doesn't know to react appropriately to it. Then Akira starts sucking and touching and pleasuring him earnestly with well-placed flicks of his wrist and gentle swallows taking him deeper, and he starts moaning brokenly.

When the cock throbs in his mouth signalling that he's close, Goro groans loudly and pants with all reservations lost, "A-Akira, wait, you _can't—_" muscles having lost their strength and slumped over only kept up by the headboard.

Akira backs off until only the tip is sitting in his mouth, then leaves a gentle kiss as he lets it out. He's promised that he would stop if that was what Goro wanted. "I'm reciprocating from all the times you gave me a blowjob," "you made me feel amazing, wanted you to know how it feels, too..."

"I'm gonna come if you keep that up," the brunette whines, his eyes widened like a saucer as he unintentionally thrusts forward, smearing some precome and spit against Akira's lips,

"You can if you want," he accentuates the words by kissing the tip gently. "You can do anything you want. That's what this is about."

A furious headshake. "I don't think I can come twice in the morning, and I don't want to come like _this_."

Akira nods, letting go of Goro's cock to reach up to kiss him gently on the lips. He doesn't want a _blowjob _to be the end of their session, if this could possibly become the only time they could fuck like actual, proper lovers. "Alright, let me get the lube."

"Take off your pants first," Goro commands hungrily, and how could Akira do anything else but obey? Not wanting to waste any time, he pulls down his training pants and his underwear at once and tosses them away from the bed haphazardly, really not caring where they landed. He can't possibly care about anything else when Goro's gaze is digging into his crotch, and it feels like he's obliquely caressing it solely with his hungry stare.

"Y-You got that hard from sucking dick, Akira? Maybe you _are _a whore," Goro shudders , but there's just no strength or any toxicity behind them with how needy he has become that Akira just gives him a toothy grin and replies,

"Nah, it's just you. I've dreamt about doing this to you for such a long time that I couldn't help myself."

"Stop destroying the mood like that," Goro grumbles, but he doesn't fight back when Akira climbs on his body and kisses him properly, letting their mouth fit together. Akira can't believe just how well they fit together; kissing is something they've never had to practice since the very beginning, letting their tongues slide beside each other as they roamed the inner walls the others' mouth. As the deepening lip-lock distracts Akechi, Akira gently lifts his hips, uses his right hand to hold Goro's cock upright and sinks down.

Goro moans into his mouth. Akira swallows that exhale and and locks it somewhere deep down his stomach, not wanting to forget. As they separate, Akira licks at those glowing lips as he grinds down demurely. "How does it feel?" He whispers, barely audible.

Goro doesn't say anything, only bites his lips and looks at Akira with desperation clouding the usually knifelike orbs. Akira lets the rest of Goro's shaft penetrate him, then cradles his face with both hands, gently putting a finger between those lips to stop him from biting so hard—Akira thinks if he keeps that up, he'll end up breaking skin. Goro sucks on it, the light in his eyes glazing over as he tongues against it like how he would service a cock, the licks intensifying as Akira begins to properly ride him.

Akira rolls his hips so Goro could really feel it; coming up until only the tip is barely penetrating him, then dropping down in an instant, letting the cockhead drag against his prostate, tightening as much around Goro's cock as Akira can.

The tumble of moans around his fingers driving him further, he rides Goro skillfully, raising the pace inexorably, until the moans turn into an incoherent mumble.

Removing the index, he rubs it gently against Goro's cheek, smearing the tears away. "What are you saying, honey?"

"Lemme out," Goro sniffs, pulling against his bonds. "Let me hold you."

Akira instantly reaches for the bonds, finger dragging into the little loop in the left, pulling at it lightly and letting the silk flow down, setting Goro's wrists free. The moment they are released, the brunette reaches for Akira's face, crushing their lips together as he thrusts up to the heat enveloping him whole. Akira learns the pace quickly, and it doesn't take long until they're thrusting in harmony, connected in so many ways, trying to drown themselves in each others' embrace and affection.

A hiccup against his lips is the only warning he gets as Goro ejaculates, spraying and soaking his inner walls with come, and that's all Akira needs for him to come too, tightening deliciously around to milk every drop. Finally satisfied, Goro lets his head collapse with a thunk, and Akira catches him so he doesn't hit himself on the headboard.

He separates the two of them with a wet squelch, and pads towards the bathroom on his own, knowing Goro won't be any use to him in his state. Drizzling warm water on a towel, he twists against it to prepare cleaning cloth. Deeming it ready, he reaches back to Goro to run the fluffy material all over Goro's wet stomach and cock, cleaning up the mess.

Once finished, he slips next to the warm weight, wrapping his arms and legs around Goro's body. Goro has far too many painful edges for someone his age—he doesn't need to be Tae to see that he hasn't been eating properly—and although it isn't the paragon of comfort, the fact that Akechi Goro is letting Akira spoon him makes all that physicality irrelevant.

"Good?" Akira breathes out, staring into Goro's half-lidded eyes while patting his soft hair, feeling soft and fluffy inside—or as Goro would call it, _stupidly sappy_.

Goro struggles to find the words, then settles on, "it wasn't so bad."

What Akira hears it as, _I liked it_. "Think it's not so bad, huh?" Akira can't keep the victory grin off his face, earning a drowsy glare. "Come on, I've proved my worth, let me have this one moment."

"We'll talk about it when I wake up," Goro yawns, curling into himself and straight into Akira's embrace, and the very insinuation that Goro would be next to him when Akira wakes up makes his heart thump even faster.

**Author's Note:**

> update 4/27/20: kinda got an idea for a loosely connected sequel-ish? (it's not that soft btw i may have written the epilogue a bit too early) so that's the reason why this is a series now. but am in a pit of required writing goals rn so i'm not sure when i can get it out. hopefully at least by the end of may! i am but a clown with my five balls


End file.
